Random Training, Reading WKO+ Charts From A Season

An athlete recently did a consultation with me over his training, where he sent me all his WKO+ files from this past season, and I reviewed the charts, telling him what I saw about his training.

Here is one of the charts I used, which showed me how his cycling training went for the year, fairly clearly:

(Click on image to enlarge)

You'll notice the athlete starts off the season really well, from January until May, with consistent improvement, only to see the second half of the season not resemble anything like the first half. This is something I see common in self-coached athletes. They will spend the first part of the season doing all the group workouts they can, racing in practice all the time, going hard as often as they can, training by peer pressure. After awhile, the body begins to plateau, or they get mentally tired, and they struggle to perform well at the same workouts which were bringing them such great fitness in the early season. By the end of the season, the athlete is just shot, mentally and physically, usually finishing on a negative note.

If you're looking for ways to prevent this from happening, then using technology in your training and analysis of your training will help you to make better training decisions. You can create training decisions based on data, not on peer pressure! After a few weeks of seeing a plateau, as a coach I would be changing training for sure!

This is the type of thing I discussed in the webinar on "Advanced Charts and Tracking in WKO+ for Athlete Performance," at Performance Webinars. If you use WKO+, or are interested in using it, then my webinar which is archived on there is something you'll want to see, for helping you see these plateaus before they happen.

I will share some more charts from this athlete and others, which show some interesting things from the year and season of 2009. Stay tuned!

Coach Vance

Gift Certificates Available for the Holidays and Beyond

If you're looking for a gift idea for the athlete in your life, TrainingBible Coaching is offering gift certificates and a holiday special for you to consider!

1. Gift Certificates - Purchase a gift certificate for coaching, our camps, clinics, video analysis or even a sit-down session with a coach to discuss goals, planning training for the year, or whatever the needs of the athlete are. Prices vary, so please check this page for details.

2. How about 3 months of coaching by one of my TrainingBible coaches? This is something nearly every athlete would love to receive as a gift to help them get ready for the 2010 season. Make your purchase before December 25 and TrainingBible will even give you a gift - we will waive our normal $150-250 Start Up Fee (with 3 months paid in advance). This offer is good for any of our coaching services.* For a list of services and fees go to our site. To take advantage of this offer please email our Director of Coaching, Adam Zucco before December 25, 2009.

Coach Vance

*This is based on coach availability, as I only have 3.0-4.0 level service plans available. However, we have other coaches with availability at other levels.

Post Season Analysis

The following is an article I wrote for Finishline-Multisport for the month of December. It's a timely piece, with a lot of relevancy for athletes who have finished up their season.

Post Season Analysis

Analysis of fitness is a key to improvement and performance, and is something I do on a regular basis with my athletes. However, sometimes it is best to sit back and look at the bigger picture of fitness and performance. This is why coaches set-up an annual training plan at the beginning of the season, which structures the year to build fitness across a spectrum of time.

Another great time to do this, which is often overlooked, is the end of the season. Analysis of how the season went, and how it could have been improved is a key component of planning for the following season.

One of the exercises I have my athletes do is write out the answers to the following questions, so we can better assess the season...

Read the rest here at Finishline-Multisport.com

Coach Vance

ActiveTrainer.com Swim Training Plans

For those of you out there training and using ActiveTrainer, I have created some swim training plans with iPod/iPhone videos, which you can take to the pool with you, to help demo drills and skills.

The plans are written as two days of workouts and new drill introduction, (Mondays and Wednesdays), and then another fitness-based workout which combines the skills of the week into a single workout. Every other week has a fourth workout, which is optional or can be switched around during the week.

If you're a triathlete looking for swim help only, and want to do your own bike and run training, then these plans are for you. You can simply add these swim workouts to your training, and adjust as you see fit.

Check it out here under Triathlon or Swimming:
http://www.activetrainer.com/

There are three plans, Level 1, Level 2, and a combined one for cheaper of Levels 1 and 2.

If you use these, I'm sure you'll learn a lot, and improve your swimming!

Best of luck!

Coach Vance

Understanding Swimming talk at Nytro - Wednesday Dec 16th

I'll be doing a talk at NYTRO in Encinitas, CA which you won't want to miss!

What: "Learning and Understanding the 3 Most Important Technical Aspects of Swimming"
When: Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 6:15 - 7:30 PM
Where: Nytro
Who: Anyone who is struggling with swimming, or wants to get faster in the water
***Please RSVP to Jim at jvance at trainingbible dot com****

This lecture will help athletes understand what they want to accomplish in the water, not just throwing one arm in front of the other.

Even if you've already been this or similar lectures, I've improved it with some new concepts, analogies and aspects which will help you improve your swimming OVERNIGHT! If you haven't seen it, then don't miss this chance!

Hope to see you there!

Coach Vance